Older
by lazy.flower
Summary: ::Oldrivalshipping:: A series about Gary's birthdays. Apparently, gifts —along with Leaf— play an important part.
1. Chapter 1: Respect Your Olders!

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Pokemon Special

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Pokemon Special. If I did, I'd hook up Gary (Green) and Leaf (Blue) 3! But goodness me, I don't own them, either! :(

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**Older**

_Respect Your Olders!_

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"Garyyyyyyy!!" a six-year-old Leaf called. "I give up!! Come out already!" The small brunette with a white hat, teal tank top, and red skirt pouted, crossed her arms, and plopped down, cross-legged, in the shade of a large oak tree in the Pallet Town park.

"Well, _you're_ no fun to play with!" a boy's voice called out.

The brunette quickly stood up, looking around her. "Where are you, Gary?? I can't see you!" She heard a scoff.

"Look harder, then."

"Hmmf!" Leaf pouted again, then sat, sprawling herself under the shade of the tree once again, putting her hands behind her back and putting her legs straight out.

Then she saw him, brown unruly hair and a mischievous grin plastered on his face. He wore a black polo with purple pants, and his legs swung back and forth as he held onto the branch. Leaf brightened and sat up, one hand supporting her upper body and the other pointing at the boy. "Found ya!"

Gary laughed. "Well, it's about time. What took you so long?"

Leaf, still looking up, stuck out a tongue at him. "Well, how was **I** supposed to know that you were hiding in a tree?"

"That's why it's called hide and seek..."

"Whatever. Come down already!"

"Nah, I think I'll stay up here," Gary stuck a tongue back down at Leaf. "Nyahhhh."

Leaf whined, "Garyyyy I feel lonely down hereeeeee."

Gary rolled his eyes, and, being quite physically fit for a boy his age, pushed himself off the branch and landed on his two feet next to Leaf. "Sheesh. I'm down. Stop whining already."

"Yayyy Gary's here!" Leaf smiled and pulled Gary down so that he was sitting in the grass next to Leaf.

"Oof! Hey, could you be a little more gentle?" Gary rubbed his bottom. "You have to respect your olders anyways."

Leaf giggled. "I think it's _elders_, Gary."

"Whatever. I'm turning seven tomorrow anyways, so you have to respect me because I'm your older."

Leaf was tempted to correct him again, but, figuring that he would ignore her again, she put her hands behind her head again and lay in the grass with her eyes closed, just listening to the sound of wind passing through the tree's leaves.

"Eh?" Gary poked Leaf on her side, making her twitch slightly and giggle. "Suddenly so quiet, huh, Leaf?"

"Shhhhhh." Leaf became solemn again, almost as if she were in a trance.

Gary looked even more bewildered. Leaf had become so quiet and composed all of a sudden. The quiet was bothering Gary. "So, anyways, Leaf, do you want to go to my birthday party tomorrow? It's just you and Ash, but it's going to be fun!" Gary poked Leaf on the side again.

This time, Leaf couldn't help but burst out into a fit of giggles. "Garyyyyy!"

Gary beamed, happy that he was able to get Leaf to react, and he continued prodding her shoulder while he asked her, "So do you wanna go? Come onnnn, Leaf!"

"It matters..."

"On what?" Gary stopped poking Leaf.

"On... whether or not you can catch me!" Leaf, giggling, stood up quickly, and face-palmed Gary.

Gary rubbed his forehead. "Oi! Come back here!"

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A small, brown haired girl stood at a door, one hand holding a medium-sized, white box with green ribbon tied around it. With the other, she rang the doorbell...

"Hi, Gary!!" Leaf waved enthusiastically with one hand when Gary opened the door to his grandfather's laboratory.

"Hey, Leaf!" Gary held open the door while Leaf stepped into the laboratory.

"Here!" Leaf shoved the white package into Gary's face. "This is for you! Happy seventh birthday!"

"Make a wish... Now blow!" Professor Oak said as his grandson closed his eyes, then began blowing out the seven candles that were on the chocolate cake in front of him.

"Come on, Gary! Blow out the candles! There are only seven!" Ash and Leaf cheered as Gary blew out the last of candles.

"What'd you wish for?" Leaf asked him excitedly.

"Hey, don't ask him that, Leaf! You know it'll jinx his wish!" Ash said.

"Ashy-boy's right!" Gary said. He patted Ash on the head, earning him glares from Ash and giggles from Leaf. He smiled when Leaf started giggling; he loved making Leaf happy.

"Oooo-kay!" Professor Oak said cheerfully as he set a small stack of presents on the table next to the cake. "Time for—"

"PRESENTS!!" the trio shouted. "Open mine first, Gary!" Leaf said, pointing at a white box. "No, mine!" Ash insisted, shoving a blue box towards him. Professor Oak waved his hands at the kids, then, when they had calmed down, said, "How about you open mine first, Gary?" he said, handing the brown spiky haired boy a golden bag.

"Okay, thanks Gramps!" Gary smiled at his grandfather as he took the bag and pulled out a tissue paper wrapped object. "Wow... No! Is it really--?? NO WAY!!" Gary launched off his chair and tackled his grandfather into a bear hug. "Thanks so much Gramps! I can't believe you got me a Squirtle model TRT!!"

"See?" he eagerly showed Leaf and Ash the Squirtle figure that had two buttons on the side. "It can do two attacks. Water Gun..." He pressed the button with a water drop on it. The Squirtle figure opened its mouth and sprayed Ash with its "water gun", sending both Gary and Leaf into hysterics at the sight of Ash dripping with water. "... and Bubble!" He aimed the Squirtle at Leaf this time and pressed down the bubble button. The figure opened its mouth, and bubbles lazily floated out. Leaf shrieked in excitement and scrambled off her chair, chasing and popping as many bubbles as she could.

Professor Oak now had returned from getting a towel for Ash to dry himself off with. "Okay, okay, now, let's open another present, shall we?" the professor chuckled, handing the towel to a soggy Ash.

"Alright. Thanks again, Gramps!" Gary said as he set aside the Squirtle model. The three children scrambled onto their seats again, Leaf and Ash awaiting Gary's next decision.

"Hmm let's open this one next!" Gary picked out Ash's gift, which was in a blue giftwrapped box. Gary tore off the giftwrap, and when a small part of it had been exposed, he beamed. "A photo album, huh, Ashy boy!"

"It was my mom's idea..." Ash mumbled, sinking into his chair.

Gary quickly tore off the rest of the wrapping paper, and Leaf and Ash crowded around him while Gary flipped through the pages of pictures. "Wow, Ash. Normally, I'd call this a girly thing, but there are a lot of funny pictures in this thing! This is a cool present! Thanks!"

Ash smiled. "Wow, you like it? You're welcome Gary!" The three continued looking and laughing at pictures while the Professor cleaned up the wrapping paper.

"Alright, now come," the professor said after many other presents had been opened. "Only one more, and you guys are free to play!" The three kids cheered. Professor Oak handed Gary the white box; Leaf's gift.

"I hope you like it, Gary!" Leaf said, smiling at him.

Gary smiled back at Leaf, then carefully untied the green ribbon tied around the box and slowly lifted the top...

It was a necklace pendant. It sort of looked like a yin and yang pendant, but it just had one green section and another yellow section. On the back, it had engraved, 'Leaf and Gary. Best friends!'

Up until now, no one had spoken, and Leaf finally broke the silence and quietly said, "Umm is it too girly?"

Gary fingered the pendant, then put it over his head and onto his neck. "Heck no! This is one of the coolest presents I've ever gotten. Thanks, Leaf!" Leaf smiled and hugged Gary.

"Good. I thought you might say it was too girly and stuff since it's a necklace."

"Nahh this is a cool present. Thanks, Leaf."

"You're welcome."

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Hope you enjoyed it : This is just some random blurb I wrote in two hours, and not a really good random blurb I thought since it had no real point... xP But please review! : Then you can make me feel lurved wheee!! :D And you know everyone likes to feel lurved! :)


	2. Chapter 2: Shut Your Window

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Pokemon Special

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Pokemon Special. If I did, I'd hook up Gary (Green) and Leaf (Blue) 3! But goodness me, I don't own them, either! :(

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**Older**

_Shut Your Window_

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"Aw, crap, no." Gary Oak fumbled through his drawers, pulling out pants, socks, shirts, boxers. "Crap, crap, crap _no_!" He slumped down against a dresser, knocking his head back against it rhythmically. "Think, Gary Oak. THINK." The recently seventeen-year-old teen was late for his birthday dinner with three of his friends. And _boy_, was Leaf going to make him pay. _Especially_ if he turned up without it. How the heck had it even disappeared?? He wore it _every_ day! _Every. Single. Freaking. Moment. Of. Every. Single. Freaking. Day!!_

Gary got up again, then lifted up his blankets and began shaking them for what seemed to be the hundredth time that day, hoping that the small green and yellow pendant would come magically tumbling out of the folds. When no pendant appeared, Gary threw down the blankets with an angry grunt and turned to the rest of his room.

It was a mess.

Of course it was. He had been up since eight looking for it, taking hardly any breaks, and now it was six in the evening!

'_I am so screwed...'_ Gary fell back into the heap of blankets on his bed, his face in his pillow. He tuned out everything, trying to think of where the small pendant could have gone. '_Come on, THINK. Where could you have dropped it or put it without knowing you did it??'_

"Gary?" Professor Oak called from downstairs. "Leaf on the phone for you!"

'_RIP Gary Oaks on his seventeenth birthday, murdered by his best friend, Leaf...'_

"Gary!" Professor Oak called again.

"Yeah, Gramps!" Gary yelled to his grandfather downstairs. Grumbling, he picked up the phone in his room. "Ello?" he grumbled into the phone.

'Oi. The birthday boy sounds unhappy. What's wrong with you?' Leaf said.

"Ehhh nothing."

'Really, now?' Gary could swear he "saw" Leaf smirking on the other end. 'Well, just hurry up. You were supposed to be here five minutes ago, okay?'

"Yeah, yeah," Gary grumbled. "Just give me a sec. I'm a bit preoccupied right now."

'And what, may I ask, is more important than dinner with your friends?'

"Mmrf." Gary wished she could hang up so he could continue looking for the necklace pendant.

'Oh, yeah, and don't forget to give me back my hat, _which you so graciously stole from me yesterday_,' she said.

Gary smirked for the first time in hours. "Well, it's not my fault you decided to go on a poking spree at me..."

Leaf giggled. 'Oh, now who taught me all the pressure points, O Mature One?'

Gary grumbled. "That was a long time ago, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Leaf laughed on the other end. "Just make sure you get here soon, alright?" Her tone softened at the end.

"Mmhmm. Bye."

'See you later, Gary!'

With that, Gary hung up and sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I think I'm going to have to go without it," he sighed and made his way down the stairs.

"Hey, Gramps! I'm going, now!" Gary yelled as he stepped outside and closed the door.

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By the time he had walked to the restaurant buffet where Ash, Misty, and Leaf were waiting, it was almost six thirty, and when he got to their table, which was a half circular booth, he found only Leaf sitting there picking at her mashed potatoes, alone. Leaf looked up and smiled. "Someone's late," she teased.

"Yeah, yeah," Gary said as he slid in to the left of Leaf. "Where are Ash and Misty?"

"Nooo idea," Leaf said as she put down her fork. "They've been gone a long time though," she smirked and winked at Gary. "If you get what I mean."

Gary smirked. "Ashy-boy's getting it on..."

Leaf suddenly poked Gary's arm. "Where's my hat?"

Gary smacked a hand to his forehead and groaned. "I _knew_ I forgot something when I left the house...! Eh, I'll give it to you later."

Leaf pouted, then opened her mouth as if she were about to say something, then closed it again. "You'd better remember."

"Mmhmm..." Gary eyeballed Leaf's mashed potatoes. "Those look good... But I'm feeling too lazy to get any..." With that, he grabbed Leaf's fork, and dug into her mashed potatoes. Leaf watched him, rolled her eyes, and took a drink of her water. "Typical Gary," she muttered and nudged him, reprimanding him slightly.

"Those were good potatoes." Gary finished off the last of the mashed potatoes and leaned back onto the cushioning of the booth. Leaf stared, then began laughing.

"You dork," Leaf laughed, shoving him.

"Hey! They were!" Gary protested. The two laughed at each others' silliness.

Leaf suddenly stopped laughing and looked at Gary, as if trying to figure something out. "You look... different." She poked his nose with her index finger, which Gary swatted away nervously.

"What do you mean?" Gary asked, suddenly becoming tense.

"I don't know... Did you do your hair different or something?" Leaf asked, looking at Gary's dark brown spikes. She put a hand up to his hair and ruffled it, trying to figure out if there was anything different with it. "Hmm, doesn't look like it."

Gary wasn't paying attention. He was trying to figure out ways to make up excuses should she ask why he wasn't wearing the pendant.

"Oh!" Gary snapped back to reality, startled by Leaf's outburst. "I know!" Gary's heart started hammering faster. "You've been working out more!" Leaf devilishly grinned and started poking Gary's arm muscles, which _were_ rather toned.

Gary reddened. "Leaf..."

She giggled. "Oh, don't mind me. I understand. At seventeen, guys have to work out to get the attention of girls. They have to make sure they don't have any flab!" she nodded, stretching out the vowel in 'flab.'

Gary put Leaf's hand back on her lap. "Now you're just being ridiculous." Gary said, rolling his eyes.

"Wait!" Leaf said suddenly, almost surprised. "You..." she whispered, putting a hand to the place on Gary's chest where the pendant usually rested.

'_Oh, damn.'_

"You're... You're not wearing the pendant..." she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "But why?" she asked him, almost pleading him to answer.

"Leaf, you see..." Gary struggled to put it in the right words. "I just sort of... I don't know..."

"What?" Leaf's voice had become dangerously steely, and she withdrew her hand. "What did you 'sort of' do?"

"... lost it."

"Gary Oak. What do you mean you 'lost it'?" Leaf said, her hands curling into fists.

"I seriously don't know what happened! I went to sleep with it on, and when I got up, it was gone!" Gary hurried through his explanation, hoping to not be dead before Leaf heard it all.

"Gary... Don't you remember how you got that pendant?" Leaf said, her voice begging him to remember.

"Course," Gary said, still wondering why he wasn't dead yet. "You gave it to me when I was seven. And I've worn it every day since," he said. "Well, except maybe this one," with a glare from Leaf.

Leaf sighed, then said nothing as she seemed to get lost in her thoughts.

"Wait!" Leaf said. "Did you leave your window open or something?" Leaf, concerned, looked at Gary.

"I don't think s—Oh my freaking... I remember now! My Skarmory! Aww, cr--!" Gary looked surprised as Leaf put a delicate finger over his lips.

"Shhhh, getting upset about it won't get you anywhere. I think it's my fault, anyways. I was the one whose Jigglypuff was stuck in the tree," she rubbed the back of her head, sighing.

"I know, but I should have known to close the window...!"

"Wait, let's talk about this later," Leaf said, nodding towards Ash and Misty, who were coming back with a slightly disheveled appearance: Ash's shirt was mussed up, Misty's side ponytail was crooked, and both looked extremely red.

"Oh, hey, Gary!" Ash said, still red. "Umm... Happy Birthday!"

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After a fun and laughter-filled dinner, the four friends separated Ash walked Misty back to her house, and Gary and Leaf were walking back to Gary's house to get Leaf's hat.

Leaf was walking backwards calling good-byes to Ash and Misty in the night when she placed a foot in a crack and began tumbling backwards. She flailed her arms attempting to regain her balance, then, realizing she couldn't, she shut her eyes and braced for the impact.

It never came.

Leaf opened her eyes slowly when she registered the stop of the momentum, a hand in hers and another one behind her back.

"Clumsy," Gary smirked. He pulled a very red Leaf up.

"Th-thanks, Gary."

"Hn. Hurry up, though. Gramps might be wondering where we've gone off to," Gary winked. "We wouldn't want him to get the wrong idea, would we?"

Leaf reddened even more, if that was possible. "GARY OAK! YOU AND YOUR PERVERTED MIND ARE GOING TO PAY!!" And with that, Leaf chased Gary all the way to his house, where, in front of the door, they put their hands against their knees and panted.

"I've... got to," Gary panted. "give you... _some_... credit, I guess... You run a lot... faster than I thought you could..."

"Heh," Leaf said. "Well, you're... also pretty fast... You're still... hard to chase..."

Professor Oak opened the door. "Oh, there you kids are! I was wondering where you had gone off to," he winked. Gary and Leaf both looked at him, exasperated.

"It's in the genes, I tell you..." Leaf said, shaking her head before stepping inside the Oak residence.

"Eh, Gary?" Professor Oak looked at his grandson. "Did you do something with your hair? You look different..."

Gary smirked. "Nah, though it looks good, doesn't it?"

'_Conceited dork,'_ Leaf thought.

"Wait a sec while I get your hat, okay?"

Leaf giggled and batted away Gary's hand. "Yeah, yeah."

After Gary had jogged up the stairs, Leaf wandered around the hallway area, then stopped to look at various pictures of Gary and his grandfather on a table. There was one picture of a small Gary and his Squirtle, and another that seemed to have been taken right after of Gary being squirted in the face by his Squirtle's water gun. Leaf giggled. It reminded her of one of his birthday parties she had gone to; Ash was still sore about how Gary had used water gun with his Squirtle model, though it gave the other two a good laugh when brought up.

Her eyes wandered across other pictures. One pictures was of a small Gary fishing with Misty, and another was of a thirteen year old Gary and Ash holding up their first badges. Leaf smiled. There was a picture of Gary and Leaf; seven-year-old Leaf had just opened her birthday present to find a white fedora-like hat with a red band encircling the top. Another picture of Leaf and Gary sitting back to back and smiling at the camera with their presents on was next to it.

Leaf smiled. _'Good times...'_ she thought. _'Well, I have to admit, they're pretty good times now...'_

Leaf looked up when she heard Gary thumping down the stairs. "Here," he said, sticking Leaf's hat onto her head.

She smirked and adjusted the hat. "Thanks. You were up there so long I thought you almost forgot what you were up there in the first place for."

Gary scoffed. "I don't have _that_ bad a memory..."

Leaf rolled her eyes, and the two stood in silence, looking around them for a while. Unfortunately, they didn't hear Professor Oak snickering and creeping over to the stereo.

He turned it on; it was already preset to the track he wanted to play.

"_There's a calm surrender to the rush of day  
When the heat of the rolling world can be turned away"  
_

Professor Oak frowned. That wouldn't do. He could hardly hear it himself from where he was standing. Professor Oak reached over to the volume knob and turned the dial so that it was on the maximum volume.

"_An enchanted moment, and it sees me through  
It's enough for this restless warrior just to be with you"  
_

He frowned again. He could still hardly hear it, and he was sure that Leaf and Gary wouldn't be able to. _'...Oh, there's the problem!'_ Professor Oak reached over to the set of headphones that were plugged into the stereo and pulled it out, just forgetting for a split second that the volume was still blasted on maximum volume.

_  
"__**And can you feel the love tonight...?"**_

Gary and Leaf, at that moment, without even intending to, met eyes, and when they finally registered what the loud music was saying, their eyes grew wide. Both blushed and averted their eyes from each others'. "Wait a second..." Gary growled, realization dawning upon him. "GRAMPS...!" he roared and started off towards the stereo, and where he knew his grandfather was.

_**It is where we are, it's enough for this wide-eyed wanderer...**__"_

Professor Oak muttered under his breath and turned the volume dial down so it was a more normal volume. "Phew!" he sighed and wiped his forehead. However, his peace didn't last long. He heard a bloodcurdling yell from the hallway and tensed. _'Oh, dear. I hope I haven't upset Gary... Still... Better to be safe...'_ he thought as he started running.

Leaf was still in shock when Gary started sprinting towards his grandfather, then winced as she heard crashes. She sweatdropped and thought, _'Maybe I should just... leave...'_

"Okay! I'm going to show myself out now!" she shouted, hoping to be heard over the music and the sounds of both the professor and Gary yelling.

"Wait!" Gary magically appeared next to Leaf, startling her.

"Woah--! You _do_ run faster than I thought," Leaf giggled, poking Gary on the forehead.

"... Well, thanks for coming." Gary said, opening the door.

"Nahh, no problem. I'm always with you on your birthday!" Leaf stepped out the door. The porch light was on, but the night was dark. "And besides," she said, turning towards him. "You always have to deal with my parties." Leaf giggled.

Gary rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his brown, spiky hair. "Yeah, yeah. So you want me to walk you home? It's pretty dark out."

Leaf turned her head, looking at the darkness, then looked back at Gary and smiled. "Nahh, it's all right. You've already done enough by getting my hat back."

"Yeah, well let me at least let you go home on Skarmory..." Gary said as he fumbled with his pokeballs, finally finding the one that contained his flying Pokemon. He released Skarmony; a white flash defied the black night and produced a steel-looking, large, and bird-like Pokemon; it stood in front of the porch and looked at the two people in the light.

Leaf and Gary made their way towards the large Pokemon. Gary helped Leaf up Skarmony, making sure that she didn't fall; Leaf smiled. "Thanks," she said, and leaned down towards Gary. She gave him a small peck on the cheek, and when he finally realized what had just happened, she was already in the sky flying towards her house.

Gary watched her fly off, then slowly walked back into his house, the place on his cheek where Leaf had kissed him tingling. _'Good thing Gramps didn't see that,'_ he thought, looking at the professor, who was currently under his desk, obviously hoping that Gary wouldn't see him.

But Gary was in a good mood.

He walked up the stairs and into his room, still slightly dazed. He lay on his bed with his back on the bed and his hands behind his head, his feet still touching the floor. Gary closed his eyes and thought about the many things that had happened today. It was an interesting seventeenth birthday, he thought. Although his close-to-heart necklace pendant from Leaf had been stolen by some idiot, he felt that him and Leaf still had a great relationship as ever. They weren't exactly boyfriend and girlfriend; just really good friends. _Really_ good friends. _'Or is it more...?'_ Gary wondered, his eyes still closed.

A flutter at his window caused Gary to slowly and lazily open his eyes. _'Skarmory's back,'_ he thought. He opened his window and was about to call the steel-like Pokemon back into its pokeball when he saw a small glitter of a token in Sarmory's claws. _'No... Can't be...'_ Gary thought, his eyes wide as he reached out to the small trinket.

It was the necklace pendant.

There it was, just staring back at him as blankly as he was staring at it. The yellow and green paint gleamed in the light; there was not one dent or chip in the stone. Gary's heart jumped with joy as he fingered the pendant... _"Umm is it too girly?"_ ... then put it over his head... _"Nahh this is a cool present. Thanks, Leaf" _... and onto his neck. The strange feeling of the pendant not resting on his chest was gone now, and Gary felt at ease.

There was just one thing...

Skarmory was gently scratching the side of the house next to Gary's window, as if asking for attention. "Hmm, Skarmory?" Gary reached out his window and stroked the great Pokemon's beak. That was when he noticed the small rolled up note in Skarmory's beak. Gary took it from its beak and called Skarmory back to its pokeball, muttering, "Thanks, buddy." He unrolled the note and read it. _"You steal your present, I'll steal mine. :P"_

Gary smirked. He should've known.

Gary put the note on his desk, then walked across the room... and shut the window.

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**Wheee! That was the end... of chapter 2! Yayy Hope you guys liked it!**

**So if you didn't get it, Leaf almost literally planned out the whole thing:**

**It began with Leaf launching a poke attack on Gary. Then, Gary stole the hat from Leaf, and Leaf started plotting. She told Gary that her Jigglypuff was stuck in the tree and asked to borrow his Skarmory. She did so knowing that he would probably end up leaving his window open. xD And then she... stole it. oo Moral of the story? Don't mess with Leaf heh heh... **

**Oh! That AND Oldrivalshipping rocks your socks :D**

**Review and tell me how I'm doing please! :D**


	3. Chapter 2 and a Half: Remember Me?

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Pokemon Special. If I did, I'd hook up Gary (Green) and Leaf (Blue) ! But goodness me, I don't own them, either! :(

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**Older**

_Remember Me?_

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"What? Wait—but—then what'd you say? What'd _he_ say?" Misty sat crisscrossed on Leaf's bed, bouncing up and down. "Come on, just tell me already!" Misty was close to squeezing the life out of a pillow as she stared, wide-eyed, at her friend.

"Sheesh, Misty, chillax," a twenty-two year old Leaf said, shaking her head as she half-grinned at her friend. "They way you're talking, you would've thunk he asked me to marry him or something…" Fighting the sudden pink tinge that had risen to her cheeks, Leaf leaned back into her desk chair and trailed off in her thoughts, until…

_THMP._

"_YOU_," Misty raged, having sprung up from Leaf's bed. Leaf sighed and shifted her hat where the pillow had knocked it askew. Here she went again... "—_are going to tell me every single detail of every single thing that either of you said or did the whole. night._ _Got it?_"

Take a five-year high school reunion at the beach, throw the old gang in the mix, shake it up in a blender, and what did Leaf get? A hyperactive Misty pounding away at her apartment door the next morning… Typical.

Leaf sighed again, adjusting her hat a second time. She didn't like sighing, but it happened whenever the situation called for it—"Leaf! Are you even listening to me?"—or at least when Misty called for it.

"Yeah, I am," huffed an impatient Leaf.

Misty grinned devilishly. "Good," she said, plopping back onto Leaf's bed. "Now you can tell me what happened between you and Gary yesterday, right?"

'_Do I have a choice?_' Leaf thought. '_… This is Misty. Did I really need to ask?_'

Another small huff, and she began: "Well, you were there with me most of the night, weren't you? Nothing much to say—"

"Uh-uh-uh," Misty interrupted, shaking a finger in her friend's face. "What about those several _hours_ during the hot dog roasting that you mysteriously vanished with, oh I don't know," Misty tapped a finger on her chin and pretended to think, when a mock lightbulb suddenly popped up. "… perhaps _Gary Oak_?"

"It wasn't several hours," Leaf grumbled and slid down in her chair, pulling her hat over her heated face. "And we were just catching up, okay? I think you're just overreacting—"

"Overreacting? O-ver-ree-act-ing?" Misty was suffocating the poor pillow again. "Oh come on, you and I both know that you two had a thing going on when we graduated. And you never told me what happened before you guys split," Misty pondered, loosening her death-grip on the pillow.

"We never had a thing going on," Leaf protested, bringing the hat rather forcefully down onto her lap.

"Don't even go there."

"But… mmf…I…we…" Misty gave Leaf the eye once again, and Leaf leaned back with another sigh. She began playing with the brim of the memory-filled hat on her lap. '_Those stupid sighs are beginning to get on my nerves,' _she thought.

"Well… We agreed to split once we graduated and headed off to college. It'd be easier," Leaf began quietly, still fiddling with the brim. "We hadn't seen each other in a while, but it was nice seeing him again." Misty stayed silent, listening to the nostalgia taking over her friend's voice. "We didn't do much. We just wandered off for a while and talked for a bit and oh, guess what?" Misty cocked her head. "We went to the same school, we just never knew!"

Misty fell off the bed. _'But why does this not surprise me…?' _She thought with a sweatdrop, as she attempted not to strangle her friend then and there. Misty peacefully opted to ask her a question instead: "So now what?"

Leaf's grin wavered for a few seconds, then beamed back on, full-force. "We catch up of course!"

Misty couldn't hold back a giggle. "Oh, Leaf," Misty said. "Your optimism gives me hope, you know."

"I know!" Leaf said smugly.

Misty perked up, suddenly remembering something. "Oh yeah, are we still up for the movies tomorrow? I heard there's this really good action movie out, and I haven't watched a good movie in a long time. You up for it? "

Leaf's eyes widened. She had completely forgotten about her movie date with Misty. "Ummm, about that…"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Yeah…?"

"I kind of made plans with Gary tomorrow night."

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**Aaaand, that was Chapter 2.5!**

**Sorry if you guys who bothered to put this on Story Alert were kind of caught by surprise by this update. I'm reallyreally sorry about not updating in such a long time; when I started this story, it was just before high school, and I soon realized that I was having a pretty hard time making the transition from inkydinky middle school to bigugly high school.**

**I think my style's changed pretty drastically since I last updated this story (almost two years ago now, aiyuh – can you say "FAIL"?), and I blame that partly because of the seemingly incessant analytical essays we do at school and partly because I write for the school newspaper now… which has a much more serious tone. But I'll try to get back up to better standards! **

**And sorry if this isn't up to par with the other chapters. I realize that it's rather short in comparison to the other two, but 1) I wrote this in an hour, and 2) this is more of a "HEY-I'M-SORTA-BACK!" chapter... if you guys care enough to read it, that is. Sorry! xP  
**

**... Oh my, I'm making quite a lot of apologies, aren't I? :( Sorry about that—waaaaiiiiiit...**

**Anyways, review if you feel sorry for the pillow! Feedback is nice too****—****pretty please with an angry Misty on top? :)**


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